ONE distinguishing doctrine of S. D. Adventists is that of the sanctuary and its cleansing. Though it is clearly taught in the Scriptures, yet no other people teach it. The typical nature of the sanctuary of the "first covenant" is clearly shown in the letter to the Hebrews, and the priesthood of Christ and the sanctuary of the new covenant are shown to be the antitype of the earthly sanctuary and priesthood, so that by a reference to the arrangement and cleansing of that sanctuary, we have the true light on the ministration of our High Priest and the cleansing of the sanctuary of the second covenant at the end of the 2,300 days.
The disappointment at the end of those days in 1844, led to the examination of the subject of the sanctuary of which Christ is the minister, which must be the one to be cleansed in the close of this dispensation; and as light on the sanctuary was obtained, light from the sanctuary was also received. In the earthly sanctuary, the law of God, the ten commandments written by the finger of God on tables of stone, and enshrined in the ark of the covenant, was placed in the inner sanctuary, the holy of holies—that law which is now held by the many to be changed or abrogated.
But that sanctuary was typical of the true (Heb. 8: 1–5); and if the 2,300 days have expired, the time has come for the closing work in the latter to be performed by Christ, the High Priest, the work of removing the sins of his people from the sanctuary, which is called its cleansing.
And if the days are ended, and consequently prophetic time is "no longer" (Rev. 10: 6, 7), the seventh angel must commence his sounding; for it is in the days of his voice, "when he shall BEGIN TO SOUND," that this closing work, which is the finishing of the "mystery of God," should be accomplished. Accordingly we read, "And the seventh angel sounded . . . And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." Rev. 11: 15–19.
It was at the end of the 2,300 days in 1844 that the inner apartment of the temple was opened for the cleansing of the sanctuary—the closing work of our great High Priest—and as the result of the inquiry after the cause of the great disappointment of those who then expected the second advent of Christ, "there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." Here was indubitable proof of the perpetuity of the entire code of ten commandments, down to the sounding of the seventh trumpet at the close of the dispensation. And from the holy of holies, where the ark was seen, the third angel takes his credentials and goes forth to preach "the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
The commandments are to be kept; they are to be restored to the true Israel of God, while Christ is before the mercy-seat, the covering of the ark, to make reconciliation for his people and blot out their transgressions of that holy law. And thus the mystery of the gospel of God is to be finished by the last work of our High Priest in Heaven and the last message of the gospel on earth. A flood of light pours forth from the sanctuary.
We believe in God. We believe in his "sure word of prophecy," and in his providence in its fulfillment. Since 1844 the light from the sanctuary on the perpetuity of the moral law came to me before I ever heard of a Seventh-day Adventist. I was taught the true Sabbath from my infancy, and never kept any other. And knowing that in this we were in advance of first-day keepers, I did not take that interest in the early advent movement, originating as it did with those who were the transgressors of this holy law, as I otherwise should. Consequently I was not disappointed at their disappointment. I expected it, though blind and ignorant as to the truth in the matter.
But after those days, as I was reading this chapter in my family, I remarked that there was an evidence of the perpetuity of the ten commandments that I never noticed before. In all my association with S. D. Baptists, hearing preaching and reading their publications, I do not remember of ever meeting with this argument, clear and unanswerable as it is. It might have been used without professing faith in the advent at hand; but it was reserved to the time of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, to be brought out in fulfilling the prediction: "And the seventh angel sounded, . . . and the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament."
And now my former brethren cannot use this powerful argument in favor of the Bible Sabbath without incurring the risk of being called Adventists. But they are welcome to the use of it; and it is one of the clearest and most conclusive and unanswerable arguments that can be adduced.
Light from the sanctuary—from the place where God sits enthroned between the cherubim, above the mercy-seat, beneath which is the holy law—the fundamental principles of his government. "Justice and judgment are the habitation [foundation] of his throne." Ps. 89: 14. This is the true source of light. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1: 5.
R. F. COTTRELL.
Black Shepherds.
A CURIOUS transaction recently occupied the attention of the Convocation at Canterbury. The Lower House presented a "gravamen," and a most serious one, to the Upper. A clergyman was recently convicted of bigamy. He was guilty even of worse crimes. The judge, who passed sentence of penal servitude, had taken the opportunity of animadverting severely on the weakness of ecclesiastical discipline. Only in the clerical profession could a criminal, when released, resume his profession, and find employment in district after district. In the army, the law, in medical practice, the profession can expel members who have disgraced it, but it is only now that the Church of England is even seeking permission to act thus in relation to disgraced ministers. The Bishop of Exeter rightly declared it to be monstrous that a man who had committed a gross crime should retain his orders.
A Welcome for the Prayer Meeting
An old minister had advised the people of a certain neighborhood in Wales to hold 'cottage prayer-meetings,' taking the houses in regular order up the mountain-side. One day a poor woman went to a store and asked for two penny candles. The store-keeper said to her, 'Why, Nancy, what do you want with penny candles? Is not the rush-light good enough for you?' Her answer was, 'Oh, yes, rush-light is good enough for me, but the prayer-meeting will soon be coming to my house, and I want to give the Lord Jesus Christ a good welcome.' Is there not a lesson here for each Christian?—Sel.
Faith and Feeling.
ANY Christian who has had even a slight experience in leading inquirers into the way of salvation, can readily understand how important it is to guard against the tendency to pay more attention to what is called feeling than to the promises of God. At the outset nearly every one makes the mistake of supposing that emotional feeling must precede faith, and hence when urged to believe and rest upon God's sure word of promise, the penitent seeker is nearly always ready with the answer that he cannot believe, that his heart is too hard, or his guilt too great, or that wicked thoughts and inclinations rise up to darken his sky, and make trust in God impossible. In dealing with such cases every teacher knows that the inquirer must be persuaded to accept God's word, not because he feels like doing so, but because it is God's word, and because the word of the living God can be trusted, no matter what the mental or emotional state of a poor child of mortality may be. When at last this point is cleared up, and the earnest seeker believes what God says, stops thinking of his own subjective emotions, and looks away from self and unto God, he quickly learns that the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, and peace—result from faith, but do not precede it. This is according to the scriptural rule. The gift of the Spirit is consequent upon, but does not precede faith. "In whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." Eph. 1: 13.
No Christian need expect to be signally owned of God unless he can learn how to walk by faith, even without a faint glimmer of sight. It is in the vineyard of the Master where we are most prone to lose heart, and give up all as lost, as soon as we are left to toil with only the support which the promise of God gives. In the midst of visible success it is not hard to persuade ordinary Christians to believe, or at least it is not hard for them to persuade themselves that they believe. But when fruit does not appear, when opposition becomes bold and active, when the heavens no longer seem to drop down dews of grace, and the earth no longer blooms in freshness and beauty, the ranks of the laborers begin to be thinned, and the hands of many hang down in languid hopelessness. The cause of this is not hard to find. The people do not study the terms of their call, do not keep their eyes fixed upon the word of God, but merely trust in and follow after the tokens of visible success which God may give them. They have not the faith that accomplishes great things. They grow weary long before the set time for the overthrow of the frowning walls before them has come, and they have no heart to wait through three years and a half of drought for God's set time of answering by fire.
God cares little for our feeling, but highly esteems our faith. Love is greater than faith in its intrinsic qualities, but love never springs up in the heart until faith has prepared a way for it. God seeks our love, no doubt; but as the condition of love in the heart is faith, we find that our Saviour above all things sought for trustful hearts, and recognized and rewarded faith wherever he found it. He seeks still. He has great treasures in store for him that believeth. He has great victories in reserve for those who learn the secret of trusting him. To thousands of weak and lowly ones he waits to speak the word of approval and comfort, "Great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt."
We sometimes feel almost disheartened when we think of the low ebb of Christian faith which is witnessed on every hand. There are so few, so very few, who seem to know what it is to take God at his word, or what an awful thing it is to decline to take him at his word. We talk about miracles and wonders, and send to the ends of the earth to have Dr. Cullis or Dr. Boardman tell us what can be done, or what has been done, in answer to the prayer of faith; while all the time, on every shelf, and every table, and every desk, a book may be seen in which God has written the words, "Only believe; all things are possible to him that believeth." But such is the power of habit, or the perverseness of our poor human nature, that most men would rather believe Dr. Boardman than accept the simple promise of the Lord Jehovah. The heart of man does not like to believe God's word apart from all human corroboration. Here we discover the plague of the evil heart of unbelief. When this is taken away, and the heart made all pure within, it becomes a second nature to us to accept God's every word as true.—Indian Witness.
The Book that Bad Men Hate.
By Dr. Chas. H. Parkhurst
ONE reason why we believe that the Bible is the work of God, is the extraordinary and indefatigable pains taken by men of obscure integrity to get rid of it. The things that bad men hate, it will, as a rule, be safe for good men to believe in. Men's hearts stain through on to their philosophy. It never ceases to be true that every one that "doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." Light always shows the spots. Bad men congregate under the shadows. Men like to have the Bible vilified, because it eases a little the pressure on their conscience. It is always possible to gather an audience to listen to an unbeliever. Men do not want to believe, and are glad to hear the man that will meet them at the level of their wish. If they did not consciously stand beneath the Bible's reproof, they would hardly have an interest in hearing it maligned.
And we should win wondrous confidence in these staunch, sturdy Scriptures of God, if we could, for a moment, see this one volume stand up in all the serenity of its celestial powers, begirt by all the thousands upon thousands of panoplied books that have been sent out to beat it down. The strength of a champion is measured by the strength of the men that are needed to overmaster him. And yet, there was never a time when the Bible stood more evidently sovereign of the field and sovereign of human hearts than to-day. The Bible has taken no detriment. The rents its enemies have made are hardly such as to reward the pains of their valor.
And then these destroyers of the Bible give us nothing in its place. They belabor the poor Hebrews and scant fishermen who composed for us the law and the gospel, but never go about throwing their better wit and finer genius into the work of making a gospel that is superior. It was a motto of Napoleon, "To replace is to conquer." These antagonists of the Bible will have to give us something in place of it before they can break its power. And if they have the courage to crush the fulcrum on which civilization has pivoted for forty centuries, what is the meaning of their modest hesitancy in setting up something that shall make the abstraction good?
When a certain missionary had hewn down the sacred oak worshiped by the savages in the forests of Germany, he did not stop with destroying it, but when it was felled, built out of its fallen and splintered fragments a Christian chapel, and in the room of the worship of Thor, the thunderer, established the worship of Christ, the crucified. "To replace is to conquer," and the theology of the forests fled back abashed before the theology of the cross.
And so with these destructionists; let them show themselves constructionists as well. Out of the ruins of the old, let them build us a comfortable little chapel of the new. It is but just; it is but honest; it is but the rendering of an equivalent. Removing old support, let them give us something in its place that heart and mind can lean upon; something that will go forward, beautifying the home, purifying society, cultivating kindly relations among nations, holding men in proper relations with men, developing character, repressing the baser passions, stimulating the finer ones, creating in men peace and joy, robbing the death chamber of its gloom, and the grave of its shadow, and suffusing life with that beauteous serenity with which the word of God has been for three thousand years so triumphantly demonstrating its power. And so I believe the Bible is the word of God, because bad men are so bad as to hate it, and brilliant wickedness is incompetent to offer anything in its stead.—Dr. Chas. H. Parkhurst.
“Teaching of the Apostles.”
Of this recent “find,” which is making so much noise in the world, Dr. J. B. Tombes speaks as follows in the Herald of Truth:—
“At the first appearance of the manuscript from the hands of Bryennios, it was strongly hinted that it possessed the sanctity of inspiration, and the reference of Clement of Alexandria was brought forward as proof. The claim rests specially on his use of the term graphee—scripture. Now Clement, if he really refers to the ‘Teaching,’ could not have attached to it any other importance than a writing that might be quoted on some point of illustration. This erudite scholar, and Christian father, along with other early writers, makes special mention of the inspired penmen and their writings. In his work called ‘Hypotyposes,’ he furnishes an abridged statement of all the canonical scriptures, not omitting the Antilegomenoi, but no such composition as ‘Teaching of the Twelve Apostles’ is mentioned. The same may be said of Eusebius, the celebrated ecclesiastical historian, who was born about A. D. 268. This author has given us a reliable history of the primitive church. He also makes frequent mention of the New Testament canon, and its writers, but does not make mention of any such writing as the ‘Teaching,’ or as ranking with the received inspired authorities. In the light of these important considerations, it will be granted that we are not allowed to recognize the ‘Teaching’ as any other than an ordinary Christian treatise, written by some one of undoubted piety, and desirous of urging others to a life of consecration to God. But I wish to say, in addition, that as a composition the ‘Teaching’ can have no claims to gospel authority.”
Spiritual Pride.
Picking up an issue of a "holiness" paper a few days ago, attention was drawn to the caption of an article. It was the "experience" of one of the "saints," written by her own hand. The ego was so fearfully conspicuous that I was prompted to count, and found that the perpendicular personal pronoun occurred in the "experience" eighty-nine times, and "me," "my," and "myself," sixty-eight times, making a grand total of one hundred and fifty-seven times that ego was projected to the front!
Thus did not Jesus, nor Paul, nor John, nor Peter. Search all the Book, and no such "experiences" are given to either church or world to bring glory to the Redeemer's kingdom. Mental aberration justly calls forth sympathy, but method in madness usually arouses a modicum of suspicion. And yet, when such "saints" parade the streets to declaim on the corruption of ministers and churches, let no sinner presume to open his mouth.—"Quis?" in Cal. Chris. Advocate.
The Sabbath and Worldly Advantages
As long as our young men leave the Sabbath for business advantages, and our young ladies for matrimony, we may expect to find the work hard and discouraging.—Sabbath Recorder.
The Sabbath-School.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST—SEPT. 20.
1. Shortly after the birth of Christ, what cruel act did Herod perform? Matt. 2:16. 2. What prophet had foretold this event, and its attendant sorrow? Verses 17, 18. 3. Where is this prophecy found? Jer. 31:15. 4. What did the Lord, through his prophet, say to these sorrowing mothers? Verse 16. 5. From what place is it said that the murdered children shall come? Ib. 6. What is found in Heaven, in the presence of God? Ps. 16:11. 7. Since the murdered children are now in the land of the enemy, can it be that they went to Heaven at death? 8. Who is the enemy of the human race? 1 Pet. 5:8. 9. Do all who die pass under Satan's power? Heb. 2:14. 10. Who has the keys of Satan's prison house? Rev. 1:18. 11. By whom is the resurrection of the dead made possible? Acts 4:2; 1 Cor. 15:22. 12. What has the Lord promised to do with death? Isa. 25:8. 13. When will this saying be brought to pass? 1 Cor. 15:54. 14. What is the change that shall take place when this saying shall be brought to pass? 15. When does this change from corruption to incorruption take place? 1 Cor. 15:51-53. 16. And when is it that the trumpet sounds? 1 Thess. 4:16. 17. Then when is it that God's people gain the victory over death? 18. When will they come from the land of the enemy? 19. Quote two scriptures to show that both living and dead are made immortal at the same time.
OUR lesson this week is introduced by an incident which is familiar to every one having the slightest knowledge of the Bible, namely, the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem, by order of Herod, improperly called "The Great." Whether many or few infants were slain, the act is one of unparalleled atrocity; for although it was perfectly in keeping with Herod's character, his life having been filled with murders, we know of no other instance on record, of a wholesale massacre of infants, in order to secure the destruction of a possible future claimant of the crown. As to the effect that this barbarous act caused, the evangelist has simply said that there was "lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning." Each mind can best picture for itself the anguish and sorrow that followed.
THE point, however, to which we are directed is the fact that this was a direct fulfillment of a prophecy uttered by Jeremiah fully six hundred years before, and recorded in his 31st chapter. Many commentators have thought that Matthew merely states a striking coincidence which he had discovered between the words of Jeremiah, spoken with reference to another object, and the occurrence at the birth of Christ. But a large part of prophecy has a double meaning; that is, two similar things, one near at hand and the other far distant, may be foretold in the same words. And so Jeremiah's prophecy, although it had immediate reference to the Jewish captivity and restoration, took in also this and other calamities, and the final restoration of God's people. The fact that the prophet had in view the captivity of the Jews, adds force to the argument which we draw from his words, as we shall see.
"THUS saith the Lord: A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy." Jer. 31:15, 16.
Now notice: These children "were not," that is, they were dead; they had ceased to exist. Again, the command is given, "Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears." This is advice that we have more than once heard given to sorrowing mothers; but the reason for so doing was not the same as that given by the Lord through his prophet. Modern comforters bid the mother to cease weeping, because her child is now happy in Heaven, singing praises before the throne of God, etc. But the Lord gives as a source of comfort the fact that the children shall come again from the land of the enemy. Is Heaven the land of the enemy? No one would think of applying to it such a title as that. It is the habitation of God (Ps. 11:4; 33:13, 14), and certainly he cannot be called an enemy. The psalmist, addressing God, says: "In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Ps. 16:11. Then certainly those little ones had not gone to Heaven. And if they did not go to Heaven at death, who does? for surely they had done no sin, and that there was hope for them is plainly stated by the Lord.
WHERE, then, did they go? To the land of the enemy, for that is the place from which they are to come again to their own border. Our first inquiry must be as to who is the enemy. Peter says: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Pet. 5:8. An adversary is "an antagonist, an enemy; a foe." He is the enemy not only of the whole human race, but of God. "But," some one may ask, in astonishment, "why should those innocent children go to the land of the devil? What wrong had they done?" Not so fast; let us see what the land of the enemy is. These children were dead; concerning that there is no disagreement. Now death is often spoken of as a land. Job says: "Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; a land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness." Job 10:20-22. And David says: "Wilt thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" Ps. 88:10-12. Thus we see that death is spoken of as a land, and that the devil is an enemy; let us see if we have Scripture warrant for connecting the two.
WE turn to the second chapter of Hebrews, and there we read: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he [Christ] also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Verse 14. Death, then, is under the control of Satan, and is, therefore, the land of the enemy. All who die pass into the enemy's land, and under the power of the enemy. And now we see the appropriateness of applying Jeremiah's prophecy to the slaughter of the innocents as well as to the captivity of the Jews. The Israelites were taken to Babylon, the land of their enemy and conqueror. They did not desire to go, and it was not a pleasant place for them while there. (See Ps. 137.) They felt that they were in an enemy's land. Now if death be a friend, as it is often called, there is no fitness in applying a prophecy concerning the Jews' captivity to the murder of the children. But when we remember that death is an enemy (1 Cor. 15:26), and that the adversary of the race has control of it (Heb. 2:14), we see perfect harmony in the double application of the prophecy.
IN the light of Heb. 2:14, which says that the devil has the power of death, let us consider for a moment the theory that death ushers the good into the presence of God. The old hymn has it that death is "the voice that Jesus sends, to call us to his arms." If that be so, then the devil is Christ's messenger to call his children home. And in that case the devil would cease to be the adversary of mankind, for no kindlier act could be performed than to admit us to the joys of Heaven. Indeed many persons do, although unconscious of the fact, call the devil a friend; for they call death a friend; and if death be a friend, then the one who has control of it and brings it to us must also be a friend. We do not care to thus compliment the devil, and we believe that no one else will who gives the matter serious thought.
DEATH is Satan's prison house. Were he allowed to have his own way, he would never release one of his captives. But Christ says: "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [the grave] and death." Rev. 1:18. Satan can still shut up mortals in the grave, but he cannot hold them there. Christ has entered the strong man's house, and having proved himself the stronger, will spoil him of his goods. It is through Christ that the resurrection of the dead comes. It is he, not Satan, that admits the righteous into the mansions prepared for them. He has promised (Isa. 25:8) to swallow up death in victory, and this will be brought to pass, not at death, but when the trumpet sounds, and the dead in Christ are raised incorruptible, and the living are changed. If any one thinks that death has been swallowed up in victory, let him consider whether the living have been changed to immortality. When that takes place, there will be no more sorrow, nor crying, nor pain, for then we shall ever be with the Lord. E. J. W.
THE first five verses of this psalm contain earnest expressions of thankfulness for deliverance from trouble, and grateful utterances of praise to God. That David had previously besought the Lord in faith for assistance, is manifest in the expression, "I waited patiently for the Lord." That his trouble had been on account of his sins, is shown in the second verse: "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." The third verse manifests the laudable intention to proclaim to others the goodness of God. It is highly proper for any one who is conscious that the forgiving mercy of God has been extended to him, to praise the Author of his deliverance in such a manner, not only by word but by right-doing, that "many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord."
THE declaration in the fourth verse, "Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust," has many counterparts in the Scriptures, besides meeting a ready response in every obedient heart. See Ps. 31:19; 37:3; 118:8, 9; 119:1, 2; 125:1-3; Nahum 1:7, etc. The same may be said of the remainder of the verse, "and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies." There are no sins more emphatically denounced in the word of God than pride and lying; probably because that in pride originated all sin. Through pride Satan exalted himself in Heaven, and falling, brought sin into the world, and the Saviour says the devil is "a liar and the father of it." John 8:44. "Him that hath a high look and a proud heart will not I suffer." Ps. 101:5. "He that worketh deceit519shall not dwell within my house; he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight." Verse 7. "Pride goeth before destruction; and a haughty spirit before a fall." Prov. 16:18. "A man's pride shall bring him low; but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit." Chap. 29:23. In the great day of the Lord all the proud shall be as stubble (Mal. 4:1); and into the heavenly Jerusalem there shall not anything enter that maketh a lie. Rev. 21:27.
In the fifth verse the psalmist eloquently rises, in praises of the Almighty, to an eminence of inspiration that betokens a very joy in the contemplation of God and his works. From this height comes the prophetic reference to the Messiah found in verses 6-10. "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened; burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required." Verse 6. In Heb. 10:5-9, Paul treats this as the language of Christ, and from him we get the explanation of it. Beginning at the fourth verse, he argues, "for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore, when he [Christ] cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me; in burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure." Verses 4-6.
From Paul, then, we learn that the language of David in Ps. 40:6 was really the words of Christ to his Father when he came into the world; that the reason the Father did not "desire" sacrifice and offering, such as were being offered under the Mosaic law, was because they were not sufficient for an atonement—it was not possible that they could take away sin. Therefore the Father prepared Christ a body whose blood would be an adequate atonement. Chap. 9:11-14. This body was born of the Virgin Mary, and conceived of the Holy Ghost (Matt. 1:20-25); and came in literal fulfillment of the promise in Gen. 3:15 concerning the seed of the woman bruising the serpent's head.
Dr. Clarke says: "It is remarkable that all the offerings and sacrifices which were considered to be of an atoning or cleansing nature offered under the law, are here enumerated by the psalmist and the apostle, to show that none of them, nor all of them, could take away sin; and that the grand sacrifice of Christ was that alone which could do it."
"Mine ears hast thou opened." The apostle, quoting from the Septuagint version, has, instead of these words, the expression, "a body hast thou prepared me." Just how the discrepancy occurred, we do not know; but Paul pointedly incorporates the latter idea in his comment, bringing this body in contrast with the animals whose blood could not take away sin. Commentators have been puzzled as to an explanation of the different renderings. The Arabic version gives both phrases.
On the meaning of "mine ears hast thou opened," commentators vary some, but Clarke is more generally accepted. He says it "might be more properly rendered, 'my ears hast thou bored,' that is, thou hast made me thy servant forever, to dwell in thine own house; for the allusion is evidently to the custom mentioned in Ex. 21." The law was that a Hebrew servant should be set free at the end of the sixth year; but if he preferred to remain in servitude, the master would bore a hole in the servant's ear and he should serve him forever, that is, as long as he lived. This idea seems to be the correct one, when we consider the fact that Christ came to earth as a servant. Verse 8 shows this; also Isa. 42:1. Being a servant of God, of course he was a life-servant. See, also, Phil. 2:5-8. Can a servant change or abolish the law of his master? No; it is his province to obey, and Jesus came to set the inhabitants of the earth an example of obedience. See John 6:38.
"I DELIGHT to do thy will, O my God; yea thy law is within my heart." This sentiment is characteristic of Christ and all who are truly his. When on earth he was so wrapt up in his Father's will that he said, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." John 4:34. Christ came not only to fulfill his Father's will in making atonement for sinful man, but also to honor his law. Man became a sinner by breaking the law, and only a sinless substitute could take away the guilt. Then Christ could only vindicate the law by keeping it, and that is doing the will of the Lawgiver. We can only know the will of the Government by its laws, and we can only do that will by obeying the law.
David, speaking for himself, often reiterates his delight in the law of God. "I will delight myself in thy statutes, I will not forsake thy word." Ps. 119:16. "I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved." Verse 47. "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Verse 97. Speaking of the righteous, he says: "His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night." Ps. 1:2.
But some will say that was under the old covenant. Well, we ought, with our additional privileges, to be even more loyal than those who enjoyed only the shadow of our reality. And from Jeremiah we learn that such is expected of those who should live after the new covenant came in force. "After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." Jer. 31:33; Isa. 51:7, 8. Note this particularly: under the new covenant the Lord will be the God of a people who will have his law in their hearts, instead of on stone merely. He says nothing about a new law, but a new covenant, with the law more deeply impressed upon the parties with whom the covenant is made.
"I HAVE preached righteousness in the great congregation." Verse 9. This no doubt has reference to Christ opening the door for the Gentiles, and through his disciples preaching the gospel to them. So also the next verse: "I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation." From the eleventh verse onward, the reference appears to be entirely to the writer himself, and the change of tone would indicate that it was written at another time and under different circumstances. And this thought is strengthened by the fact that the seventieth psalm is a repetition of the last five verses of this.
W. N. GLENN.
If a Sabbath-school is not what it should be, in nine cases out of ten the cause can be traced directly to the officers, and not the scholars. The superintendent and teachers can be so punctual, so interested, and so thoroughly prepared that the school cannot help catching something of the same spirit. And for every missile of "must not's" and accusation hurled at young people, tell them of a thousand things they may do, and which they and many others have done. Let us stimulate, and not debilitate. The moment we assail, even in discussion, a popular evil, that moment we make for it friends. The moment we point a virtue, which by its own weight crowds out a vice, our cause commends itself to all, and Christ is so lifted up that he will draw all men unto him. In our day there can be no church long without a good Sabbath-school. There can be no Sabbath-school long without zealous officers, organized and equipped, to make it a business.
—Sel.
THE sculptor cuts out the marble that soon is to perish; let us endeavor to carve a likeness of Christ that will endure through eternity.
Temperance.
Prohibition in Iowa.
A CLERGYMAN of Fairfield, Iowa, sends to the Independent a report of the working of the new prohibitory law in Iowa, from which we take the following:—
“So far as can be learned, about five-sixths of the saloons and liquor-houses in the State have been closed up. Probably eight-ninths of the population of the State have no open saloon or other drinking-place within easy reach. There are no open saloons, in fact, except in some of the larger cities, such as Burlington, Davenport, Dubuque, and Council Bluffs. And very many of the saloons even in these places are closed. Prosecutions are being brought against those which are open. Liquors are, no doubt, still sold secretly in many places, and will be, most likely, for a while, though the vigilance of the Law and Order Leagues will gradually hunt them out. In a few places there has been turbulent opposition to the enforcement of the law, but not to the extent of loss of life, or even of the serious injury of any one. The most serious demonstrations have occurred at Marshalltown and at Iowa City, though in each case the law has been vindicated completely. But there is no doubt that, in a few places at least, an organized resistance will be made to the enforcement of the law. Liquor men are organizing and raising money for this purpose, and are expecting financial help from their friends outside the State. But the struggle must be a hopeless one. All the better elements of the State are rallying around the law. The churches, the newspapers, the business men, the farmers, the professional men, as a class, are all working for the supremacy of law and order. There will be all due forbearance on their part, even to the extent of long-suffering, but the liquor traffic in Iowa is doomed beyond remedy.”
A Strong Fetter.
THE Hartford Times tells a story of a boy in that city who had a good place, and attended faithfully to his duties, but had one bad habit, that of chewing tobacco. He used it more freely than men who had been addicted to its use for fifty years.
One day a gentleman offered the boy five dollars if he would quit chewing for a year; another made him the same offer, and a third did the same, all signing their names to a paper to that effect.
The boy said he would win the money, and so he washed his mouth and made a start. The next day was Sunday, and he felt badly; Monday he felt worse; Tuesday he shook like a man with delirium tremens; and Wednesday and Thursday he was sick in bed, with a fair prospect of a long struggle before he would get free from the “evil disease.”
Yet persons say tobacco does not hurt them, and they waste their money, and squander their lives, in the formation of habits and appetites the strength of which they only realize when at last they struggle to get free, and often find that their struggles are in vain. Many a person who has been addicted to the use of both tobacco and strong drink has found it harder to break from the tobacco than the rum.
A man who wishes to free himself from this curse should make up his mind to stop work, give up thinking, and expect to carry around for several days a head as large as a pumpkin, and about as sensible; and to feel meaner, more nervous, more lonesome, more discontented, and more uneasy than he ever did before in his life.
He should rest, eat lightly, wash all over in warm water frequently, drink liberally cold or warm water as preferred, pray for help, and go through. It will be a hard road to travel, but “’tis better farther on;” and it pays to be free.